A Brexit hero, who not only took Great Britain out of the European Union successfully but took his Conservative Party to an all time high victory in the parliamentary elections held around two years back, is in the dock today.
Just because during year before last year’s Covid-19 lockdown he had attended an in house party with his staff at his official residence at 10-Downing Street.
Not only has the opposition Labour Party made an issue out of this but his own friends and party colleagues in the Conservative Party, headed by him, have started asking for his resignation.
Although he has offered an open apology for this inadvertent breach and ordered an enquiry to be held as against him. But despite of all this in the end he may have to tender his resignation.
And there is every likelihood that he may be replaced by his own Chancellor of exchequer Rishi Sunak, the son in law of Infosys co-founder N R Narayana, a British national of Indian origin. A big jolt for one of the most popular British Prime Ministers of all time, even before he could complete his first term of four years in the office.
Leaving aside the countries which are governed by the well known dictators, countries which are said to be following democracy, as a way of life, we do not find this kind of accountability. Most of these countries are riddled with open and high degree of nepotism and corruption. No one is ready to acknowledge any kind of wrong doing.
And the countries have been robbed of million and billions and yet no one is taken to task but are enjoying a complete impunity from any such accountability. Be that at any level, small or big. They somehow manage to get away with it by manipulating the system being run by them or even the courts of law supposed to keep an eye on them.
Multi corer scams are reported, and no one gets caught or is subjected to any trial. This impunity from the law of the land is enjoyed by even their distant relatives and friends. They wield so much of wealth and power that they manage to get the kind of public support to stay in power as long as they want or even pass on the same to their next generations.
They can buy and hire people from all walks of life to work for them and subdue their opponents. Democracy in the process has lost its meaning if we look at it from this angle.
In order to ensure that the system is not hijacked and maligned by such unscrupulous politicians and leaders, people around the world need to rise and unite, raise their voices and remain vigilant.
Do whatever they can do to make all those guilty of any such wrong doing accountable at all levels. The rulers wherever they may be are required to maintain high moral and material standards.
They are not expected to let people down who choose them or expect them to heal some of their woes and make their lives better. The trust people impose in them has to be discharged. Every one of them has to be fair and come up to their expectations.
Remain honest and transparent as far as possible otherwise people are bound to lose faith in them and the system they are chosen to run. The kind of the discontent and disorder they may breed in the process can lead to anarchy.
And the result thereof in the end would be that democracy is bound to doom and autocracy may flourish.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.